Let us say, shall we, that the Barnstable airport terminal project is, well, terminally ill. It’s been batted around more than a Red Sox baseball and still a long way off from home plate.

There is a segment of the population in this town and neighboring Yarmouth that is overtly pleased the proposed project is sweating it out on a treadmill, particularly folks in the flight paths who would prefer to see the airport disappear like money at the gas pump.

Quite a few observers of the local scene wonder why the project ever started in the first place. They see the current terminal as quite adequate, particularly those who have no need of it, and they are many. They also believe growth projections for emplanements are statistical malarkey considering the escalating price of gasoline and the subsequent tanking economy.

When a proposed project runs into too many impediments and contentious situations, the wise man sits back to reassess the situation.

First there is the case of Rectrix Aviation suing the airport board over the airfield’s monopoly on jet fuel sales, the airport’s biggest breadwinner. If Rectrix succeeds, it is likely the airport can’t afford the new terminal without digging into the taxpayers’ pockets. Any official who lets that happen is in trouble with the residential constituency for sure.

Then there is the inability or unwillingness of the town and the airport combined to get owners to ring the defunct and decaying Chili’s Restaurant property at routes 132 and 28 with chain link fences, barbed wire, land mines and security guards from Halliburton to force airport users to park their cars and pay for the service at the airport. Remember, Logan and Green airports do not accommodate freebies.

If anybody wonders why airport parking income is down, just check the Chili lot on any given day…and nobody doing a thing about it. What fiduciary duty?

Then there’s the scenario of the town being force-fed a Big MAC – the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission - which is attempting to order this self-governing municipality to do its bidding or else – in this case, coerce the town and its duly elected charter commission not to abolish the airport board even if the town finds municipal control of the embattled airport the prudent thing to do. What nerve!

It is surprising Gov. Deval Patrick hasn’t stepped into the ring on this one to deal a blow to MAC the Knife for trying to intimidate the town with a threat to withhold funds for the airport terminal improvement. From a layman’s viewpoint, MAC’s gall looms large and appears to be illegal, albeit logic and law do not always surf the same wave.

The Town Council and Town Manager John Klimm have handled this situation so far in the best interests of the non-flying, that is to say, the vast majority of locals who simply don’t see the need for a sparkling multi-million-dollar terminal to help haul people in grungy work boots and dungarees en route to the fantasy islands where the princes of elsewhere find refuge from the common man.

Maybe a coat of paint here, a replaced tile there, and a few inexpensive aesthetic touches would suffice to maintain the current terminal for several more decades, you know, until the economy turns around.

Thinking outside the box, consideration might be given to leasing the terminal (and most adjunct operations) to the airline that uses it most or some other private organization with a higher bid. That way the town assures itself of continued income and rids itself of the responsibility of running an operation requiring special expertise that town officials do not always possess.